A dragon!
by Count-of-catterack
Summary: AU- medievalish universe (knight, kingdom...) Harry James Potter has been living with the Dursleys for eighteen years, on the day of his eighteenth birthday a giant comes and announces that he is the only heir to the kingdom of Vysburg and that as such he is expected to save a foreign princess from the remote castle she's captive. Also slay a dragon.
1. Prologue

**Summary:**

 _AU- medievalish universe (knight, kingdom...)_  
 _Harry James Potter has been living with the Dursleys for eighteen years, on the day of his eighteenth birthday a giant comes and announces that he is the only heir to the kingdom of Vysburg and that as such he is expected to save a foreign princess from the remote castle she's captive. Also slay a dragon._

 **Note:**

-My first attempt at a 'long' fanfic (by long I mean more than one chapter, I can't seem to do more), I'll try to update it every Wednesday. Hope you'll enjoy reading it as much as I have fun writing it! Don't forget to review, it helps me carrying on with the story!

I don't own anything, Harry Potter is the work of the wonderful J. .

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Harry was living with the Dursley, a couple having the life style of royalty despite the fact that they had no ties whatsoever with royalty. Their estate was big, that much was true, but their parcel of land must have been given out of spite because they were remote from all the places to be the kingdom of Vysburg had. And there were a lot, the kingdom had stayed prosperous even after the death of the King and the Queen and the disappearance of the only heir to the throne, all of that thanks to the regent Albus Dumbledore. Or that's what Harry had heard, when he sneaked in his cousin Dudley's lessons.

Luckily (for them and for Harry), the Dursleys were not poor. They had servants working on their estate. One of them, Mrs Figg had been Harry's wet nurse, she was a bit old now, her old legs would often give out, still she kept on working. She was the only one being nice to Harry. The other servants treated him like one of them, or even lower. Harry didn't mind, he had never seen the world as a place with ranks, people on the top ruling and people on the bottom obeying, that was something Uncle Vernon had kept harping on about. He had wanted the best for Dudley for him to be a man of influence. The only influence he had were over his bullies friends and his dog Neider.

As for what Harry did in the estate, he always had something to wash, mend and scrub. He seldom left, Dudley was the one who went to the nearest town whenever he wanted to. And as aunt Petunia had once said, they already had a son, they had no need for another one. Expect that Harry wasn't their son, surely they had power over him until he was of age, but he was certainly not their son. He was nothing like them. He was dark haired, green-eyed, scrawny and tanned, whereas the three of them were blond, blue-eyed, plump and rosy.

In fact, most of the time the Dursleys had to beg to be invited into the most influencial estates. It seemed like nobody wanted to welcome them. Aunt Petunia kept on complaining about it, saying that they were too far away from the capital, uncle Vernon mumbled and grumbled all day long and Dudley whined everytime he received letters from his friends who 'were having so much fun outside of this stupid countryside'. Truly, Harry had no problem to see why people didn't want to see them. He would have given anything he owned (and that wasn't much) to not be sujected to them everyday of his life. Well, his childhood at least. He wasn't planning on living with them eternally, he had long decided that as soon as he had turned eighteen he would run away. It was a nice dream, he was unsure how he could do it, he had no skill whatsoever and no rank. His future looked grim.


	2. Meeting a giant

**Summary:** _A stranger comes to the estate and claims that Harry is a prince? Could this be possible?_

 **Note:** Nothing belongs to me, except the situations and actions in this story. I think I should say that I plan on making this story a drarry (but Harry is faaar from meeting Draco just yet, I have a lot more for him to do). Please review if you liked it (or not, you can criticize too), it motivates me to carry on.

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One day a thundering thud echoed through the estate, it was a single knock on the door. A knock so powerful that it didn't need to be replicated. One of the servants opened the door. A giant was standing at the doorstep. The moment he saw him, Harry knew he was a giant, or at least that he looked a lot like the illustrations on Dudley's books.

The first time he had heard of giants was from his aunt, he had been straining his ear every night for a bed time story (aunt Petunia refused to enter his room, even though Harry took pride in his well made bed, his clean sheets and his shining windows, she would declare that it was too filthy for her to even set a foot in it). The following morning he would sneak into Dudley's room to look at the illustrations and read some words, aunt Petunia had insisted on him taking lessons. 'An imbecile and useless boy is not something people like, you don't want people to despise you, don't you Harry ?' had once said his aunt with a fake smile on her lips.

Dudley and his uncle had always been his reference for the ugly, children-eating giants in the stories, he thought that a giant's face would be this reddish, stupid-looking and swollen. Harry had to admit that he was wrong. Sure, the giant's face wasn't the most pleasant thing to look at but it wasn't that red and large, his hair was the most impressive thing. In fact, he looked intelligent, he had that thing around him, charisma probably, Harry bet he was someone people listened to.

As for the children-eater issue, this precise giant didn't look like he just had a roasted five-year-old for lunch. Not that there was a way to know, but Harry based his thinking on the illustration of giants he had seen, they always had one or two children in their hands or mouth. Yet there were some unkown bits of something in his beard. Harry's sight wasn't the best so he squinted hard to see better, it looked like breadcrumbs. So giants eat bread... Harry shook away the picture of a giant eating a loaf of bread as big as his leg and concentrated on the scene before his eyes.

His uncle had taken the sword decorating the mantelpiece, an heirloom from an ancestor who supposedly slayed a dragon was the version his uncle gave to people visiting. He had bought it for a trifle at a market, the blade was rusty and the original sheath had been replaced by a gleaming blue and silver one. It looked fake.

He was now brandishing it, shouting 'get out, you monster !' His aunt was standing behind his large body, pushing her reluctant son behind her to protect him. That was maybe the first time Harry had seen his aunt being motherly to that extend, she was basically ready to launch herself at the giant if he attempted anything. It left Harry with a bitter feeling he didn't quite identify.

'Good afternoon sir, lady. Your son I presume ?' Aunt Petunia's hands grabbed Dudley's, her face was a blend of fear and bravery. 'I am Rubeus Hagrid, gamekeeper. And poet.' The giant's eyes seemed to shine proudly as he announced his occupation. 'I came to take young lord Harry James Potter back to his kingdom.'

'Young lord ?' uttered uncle Vernon.

'Harry James Potter!' shrieked aunt Petunia.

'His kingdom ?' shouted Dudley.

Harry remained silent, he had misunderstood, right ? There was no way this was happening.

'Yes, I have this royal missive from the regent, you must know him, he is the grand Albus Dumbledore.'

There was a silence only broken by uncle Vernon's outraged puffing while Harry was trying to think straight. He had heard of the regent's name before in the mouth of the people the Dursleys kept on inviting, he had heard about the heirless kingdom but he had thought then that a brave knight would come and claim the throne, not that he, Harry Potter, was the only heir to a decaying kingdom.

'You talked about a kingdom...' Harry said as an attempt to break the uncomfortable silence.

'Yes, the one you inherited from your parents, King James and Queen Lily.' Hagrid answered with a little nod.

'Then that makes me...' Harry was too overwhelmed by the whole situation.

'A prince.' Hagrid was looking at him with his shiny proud little eyes, it made Harry far too awkward, he couldn't even look at the giant in the eyes.

A prince. What came to Harry's mind was the black and white illustration of a prince in Dudley's fairy tales books. They had an ostrich or a peacock feather on their hats. Harry had never seen an ostrich or a peacock in his life. Their hair reached their ears. Harry's hair was a dishevelled nest that even cukoos would refuse. They had puffed sleeves. This one was alright for Harry, he had always found them foolish. They had tights. Foolish too and uncomfortable. And they had tiny pointed shoes. The shoes were quite nice, anyhow it could have never been worse than the one he currently had. Plus, weren't princes also knights ? At least that's what Harry thought. Uncle Vernon's deep and loud voice brought his back to reality.

'That boy won't leave my house, he's still under our tutelage, he can't go to your idiotic kingdom, not even for some old geezer !' uncle Vernon roared.

Not the right answer Harry thought as he watched the giant straighening his back, his head grazing the high ceiling of the hall, the room turned dim and the giant started to...growl ? At least that's what Harry thought this guttural sound was. Before the giant could unleash his outrage, Dudley spoke.

'Why is Harry a prince ? Why am I not a prince ? Mum, that's unfair, I'm far better than him' he whined.

'Dear, would you come with me to the garden, I fear it is that horrible migraine, I want to sit' Aunt Petunia's voice was a combination of question and order.

'But, mum-' Dudley complained.

'Let the grown men handle the matter.' concluded his aunt.

That was one of the excuses his aunt loved the most, as if grown men could handle anything. Seeing how his uncle was quivering, still brandishing his unsheathed sword and how the giant was bubbling with rage, ready to smash everything, he doubted it. Harry was sure that she only wanted to take Dudley away from the giant. She probably thought that he was too much of a threat for the precious life of her wondeful boy. Again with the bitterness. Harry shook these unpleasant thoughts away and focused on how to appease the situation.

'Erm... I had already decided I would leave after turning eighteen... Maybe it'd be better if I were to leave before that...' Harry said, disappointed by his hesitant tone. He wished he were more firm.

'You are under our protection, you can't trust a giant monster who comes out of nowhere saying you're royalty ! You boy are nowhere near being royal, look at you !' Uncle Vernon shouted.

This last sentence had hurt Harry more than he wanted to admit.

'You insulted Albus Dumbledore...' Hagrid growled.

'Please, get over it. And leave, you may damage or rather dirty the ceiling with that hair of yours, do you even wash it ?' Uncle Vernon took a daring step towards the giant.

'Nobody insults Albus Dumbledore...' Hagrid growled again. He seemed to be growing bigger and bigger by the minute.

'I asked you to leave, don't you have any manners ?' Uncle Vernon stepped back but his voice didn't falter.

'Not in front of ME !' Hagrid howled. Harry found his persistence quite odd.

'Get over it, you MONSTER !' Uncle Vernon squeaked. There was no other way to call it, his uncle was afraid of the giant and that fear was in his voice.

The situation was far from being resolved for his now red from head to toes uncle had unsheated the rusty sword and was swinging it in the air like a beating stick. Harry had heard stories of his uncle's expoit. He had repeated plenty of times to Dudley that he had been a knight during his younger years, but seeing his legs shaking, his sweaty red face, it was clear that he had been boasting about it all along.

Harry had no idea how the conflict came to an end but suddenly his uncle was on the ground, the servants scurrying to set him back on his feet and the giant was staring at him, asking him to take his things because they were leaving.

Harry hesitated, should he really follow a stranger ? Should he stay with his uncle, aunt and cousin when he had never been welcomed into their family ? Oddly, his decision was quickly made, he left, he hadn't much to retrieve in his room. An entire kingdom was waiting for him, an old man was relying on him. Harry felt more pressured than ever in his short life. He still had no idea how much this adventure would change his life.


	3. Travelling with a giant

**Summary:** Harry and Hagrid are travelling on a cart (to which destination?). A conversation ensues.

 **Notes:** Nothing belongs to me, except the situations and action in this story (some of it at least, not too much as of now). I'll try and keep the updates regular but since I'm at the University and I'll have a lot of work this year please bear with me if I don't post a chapter every Wednesday!

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He was sitting on a cart. Harry was on a cart driven by two Gargantuan horses. From time to time, the cart jolted on the uneven lane and the horses snorted under Hagrid's and his weight.

Add to that a giant holding the reins in his big hands while joyfully whistling and Harry felt the urge to pinch himself to make sure he was not dreaming.

He had left the Dursley's estate. He was off to his kingdom, to maybe find a place he belonged to. Sheer happiness filled his heart, the bright sun warmed his skin, it was as if the world had taken a brand new hue. He shook his head, feeling his hair brush up against his cheeks, he was beginning to sound sappy, soon he'll be commenting on the trees, the sky, the flowers they pass by, their captivating smell...

'Don't lean too much or else you'll meet the ground and that's too early for a young lad like you' Hagrid's word brought him back to the lane in front of his eyes.

'That's... Thanks I guess' Harry didn't know what to say, he knew he was bound to return to the ground one day but that was quite abrupt to talk about it with an eighteenish year old.

'Oh, I was merely thinking of a joust, that's an image I like to picture, a jousting day, the horses' hooves jingling, the knights' suit of amour gleaming, rejoices the fray... The crash of iron, the clanging, rattling and the gushing of blood smearing the white sand... What a sight.' Harry's face was white as a sheet by the end of Hagrid's speech.

'Hm... Do-Do jousts happen often in the kingdom ?' His tone was more worried than he would have whished for.

'There's one for the Summer festival every year, and there are various competitions in the different seigneuries... Old Longbottom organised one not too long ago, his grandson too part in it, a clumsy and luckless lad if you ask me, I think he's your age, eh, I think you were born on the same day. ' Hagrid elbowed Harry, taking him by surprise, he almost slid down the cart.

'That's an amusing coincidence.' Harry replaced himself on the small bit of sitting he had.

'A poet doesn't believe in coincidences,what happens and what will happen is written in the world we live in, in this lane, in this sky, in this cloud, in the sun, that's what we use to think and to create.' Hagrid pointed at what he mentionned with his big finger. Probably as wide as his arm Harry thought.

'And did they tell you you would find me ?'

'Oh no, the map told me that,' Hagrid's finger tapped his left chest pocket. 'Nothing's left to chance, Harry, remember that.'

Harry looked down at his hand and a patch of jarring blue on the bottom of the cart caught his eye. Was that ?

'Hagrid, did you steal uncle Vernon's sword ?' Harry looked intently at Hagrid.

'Steal ? I borrowed it, it'll be useful for your journey.' Harry doubted that a rusty sword could be of any use. Perhaps the hideous colour of the sheath could make people flee, he'd have to give it a try. He didn't even know how to fight with a sword anyway.

'My journey ? I'm not going back to the capital city ?'

'No, no, you are leaving for an adventure, you'll rescue a princess from-'

'A princess ? What for ?' Harry chortled.

Hagrid stayed silent. 'Am-Am I to marry her ?'

'You are, she's always been your betrothed' the giant said with a stern tone which made Harry shiver, it was not like him to be so serious.

Harry sat silent for a while, he had never thought he'd be engaged to someone he didn't know, someone he didn't think even existed until a moment ago. It felt surreal. He was not sure he could handle all that was bit by bit thrown at him. Nonetheless, he decided that he would not ponder too much on this matter for now, if what Hagrid had said was true, he had a princess to recue.

'What is she like ?' Harry asked with interest.

'Who ?'Hagrid looked a Harry, his eyes shining with glee.

'The princess, what is she like ?' Harry repeated.

'Don't know, I've never beheld her, I've only heard that she's a beauty, you'll have to fight off an army of suitors.' Hagrid nodded as if agreeing to what he was saying, then said in a matter-of-fact way,' I heard the king of the Beauville Kingdom left and never returned. '

'He's dead ?' Harry felt his heart miss a beat. 'It must be pretty dangerous there then...'

'Oh, no, he's missing, that's completely different,' Hargid said and added, 'though it's highly unlikely he is still alive.' He paused, his eyes constantly shifting from the road to a space above Harry's head.

'Why is that ?' Harry asked, puzzled by Hagrid's behaviour.

'It's... Em... How to say it... There's an obstacle...'

'An obstacle, what kind of obstacle ?' Harry asked. Now Hagrid was starting to scare him.

'Well, it's a marvellous creature, the most perfect creature on earth if you ask me, you'd surely love to see one, oh, how these beasts fly... And I heard this one is as white as pearl and that its scales shine as brightly as the light of the sun...' Hagrid had a broad smile on his face, that didn't reassure Harry.'...what I'd give to see that dragon-'

Harry jumped to his feet, throwing the cart off balance, Hagrid forced the horses to halt in order not to crash into the nearest tree. Harry kept on staring at the giant disbelievingly and said in a high-pitched voice : 'A dragon ?!'

'Why, of course, you're a prince and a knight, you didn't expect to go there and have a princess welcome you with open arms !' Hagrid let go of one of the reins to lift his fist, looking triumphant, and terribly excited. Harry thought he looked like his uncle when his favourite knight had won a tourney. 'It's all about the challenge, the honour, the pride of men slaying beasts and conquering damsels!

Harry sunk down on the little patch of seat left for him to sit on, Hagrid's hand joined the one on the reins and with a little shake of his hands they were off.

They carried on their way. The only noticeable difference what that a dragon now loomed over the cart, taking away every ray of sunlight the day had, soon Harry felt that their surroundings had turned sinister. And they had only mentionned the dragon, what would happen when he would have to slay it? Harry shivered.

''Does the regent know about this... issue?' Harry asked uncertainty permeating his voice.

'Of course, he knows, he truly is the wisest, more knowledgeable person in this kingdom.' Hagrid nodded, agreeing with what he just said.

Then, why did he decide to send me in some remote land to save a princess from a prince-killing dragon?' Harry couldn't fathom why the only heir to the throne was thrown to his more than probable death, and everyone was accepting it, like it was the most logical thing in the world.

'You may be the prince, and thus a knight, but you haven't proved anything, you need to cut your teeth.'

'On dragon skin? It's more likely the dragon who will cut my flesh' Harry grumbled.

'Oh no, they don't chomp on people, they roast them, it's much more refined.' Hagrid said with his matter-of-fact tone.

'Refined. Great. Wonderful.' Harry let his head drop in his hands, he felt Hagrid's giant hand hesitantly patting him on the back, he was grateful the giant didn't use all his strength. He rubbed his eyes, blinding himself for a few seconds then sighed. Analysing what he felt, he realised that he was feeling oddly resigned.

He had lived almost eighteen years as a servant for his so called family, he had never owned anything, he had been looked down on, he had accepted all of this because he knew he would eventually leave.

Yet, he had never imagined it would be this way, on a cart, with a dragon enthusiast giant, off to save a princess... And the most surprising part was the whole royaty thing. Him, a prince ? What was princelike about him ? He had an average height, average features and average voice. He was average, nothing else, nothing out of the ordinary, except maybe for his green eyes, but even them he learned to dislike. Aunt Petunia kept on glaring at him everytime their gaze met, muttering 'green-eyed idiot' so many time that he came to believe that his eyes were indeed idiotic. Harry had wanted to ask her why she called him an idiot, but as he grew up, he realized that she was maybe not referring to him.

Harry thought about how little he knew about his parents. Would Hagrid know about them ? How were they ? Harry liked to think they smiled with their heart, not with their head, not with an air of despise as Harry had grown accustomed to. Did they have friends ? People they shared memories with, real memories, not a plain conversation around a table about how the Countess of Purplebrick did not know how to behave, can you believe that ? No, he liked to picture them roaring with laughter over the mischiefs they had done when they were younger, living wildly. Thinking about it now, it probably was not the case, since his father had been a prince...

'Hagrid, did you know my father ?' Harry finally asked.

'Oh, yes, I lived at the castle for a while, until... well, until something happened. ' He contemplated the road, then added. 'He was like a lion, free, stately, and there was this glint in his eye, it made me think of a forest fire.'

Harry stared at the passing trees. The giant's poetic way of talking was confusing to him. Was his father like a lion or like a fire ? And how was it something positive ? Lion and fire killed people. According to what he had understood of morals, if the Dursleys had had any or if what Mrs Figg had taught him could apply to something else than cats, then killing wasn't exactly noble.

'He was dangerous ?' Harry asked with concern.

'No! What makes you think this?' He suddenly realized. 'Is it because of the fire ? Oh, I hope you didn't take that literally, I was merely talking about the embers his youth cast on-'

'Alright, I understand.' Harry decided that compromise was better than confusion. 'How did my parents meet ?'

'At a ball, the king was throwing a ball for his son's fourteenth birthday, your mother and her sister came, your father was fascinated by the beauty of your mother, a single glance was enough for their blossoming love.'

Harry looked at Hagrid's face, taken aback by his broad smile and his moist eyes. Harry didn't know what to say, he looked in the distance.

'That.. Um... Must have been a poignant scene.' Great answer Harry thought, very expresive. Was he really a prince ? Prince of the fools was more like it.

'Wait, is it the ball during which aunt Petunia met uncle Vernon ?' Harry had heard everything about this ball. Aunt Petunia kept the dress she wore that day in the attic where Harry lived for a while until he was moved to a spare room next to the domestic's quarter. She could keep on talking about it for days and she had those sparkles in her small blue eyes, Harry had always found it disturbing. How could someone so unbearably mean be genuinely smiling in front of a piece of fabric? And why was she sobbing too?

'No, your mother's sister was alone in a corner of the room, jealousy was written all over her face.' Hagrid had a little smile on his lips, he really enjoyed mocking the Dursleys.

'She told everyone the story of how they met and it was during a ball thrown by the king...'

'It was after the ball actually.'

'After when ?' Harry didn't know what to expect.

'Oh, right at the end, you see, your uncle was working at the royal stables.'

Harry was surprised, he had always thought uncle Vernon had been a knight, or at least that he was noble, but none of it was true.

'Where did all their money come from then ?' He remembered the purses of golden coins regularly delivered to the estate, he had only ever seen one when Dudley had come into his room boasting about the golden coin he has stolen for his father's office. Dudley had looked at him, expecting him to be envious but truly Harry didn't care. Sure it was a nice colour. It did shine. Harry had simply no use for it and he hardly understood how currency worked at that time. This had disappointed Dudley who had run away, shouting that Harry had stolen something, again.

'From the kingdom, from your parents.' Hagrid answered.

'But, they're dead.' Harry was confused.

'They left you enough money to be at ease during your childhood, the regent sent a certain amount of money to your aunt every month... She was the queen's sister after all.' Hagrid shrugged and then frowned. 'I always knew they weren't treating you like they should, they wanted you to stay only to keep receiving free money...'

Harry wanted to say that it was probably not the case, that even if they had never loved him, they weren't that manipulative, but he knew Hagrid was right. That was the only explanation for uncle Vernon's tenacity... Knowing it left Harry empty. He didn't know how to feel, he didn't even know if he felt anything.

They both fell silent. It wasn't one of these awkward, or rather disapproving silences Harry had experienced for years at the dinner table whenever he decided to talk, but a nice, understanding silence. The wood of the cart creaked under their weight, victim to the rocks on the road. The sun was setting. Harry was tired, his mind was fuzzy, he felt as if he were in a dream. The lurchs of the cart rocked him to sleep. He hoped he was not dreaming.

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 _Reviews are much appreciated, it helps me carry on!_


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